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by littlewitchhazels



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Mass Effect 3, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-16 11:19:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12341637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlewitchhazels/pseuds/littlewitchhazels
Summary: Tali'Zorah vas Normandy had dreamed so many times before about how it would feel to watch the sun rise above Rannoch's horizon, but never once envisioned a scene quite like the one playing out right before her very eyes.An alternate scene, I suppose, for ME3 (at the end of Priority: Rannoch)





	Home

Tali’Zorah vas Normandy had dreamed so many times before about how it would feel to watch the sun rise above the horizon, watching from the cliffs of Rannoch as the wash of pale orange coloured the sky and brought on the new day for all to see. She had imagined every aspect with great detail, until the childlike dream had almost become a memory imprinted on her mind. Though they had traipsed across Rannoch for the better part of the week — destroying geth constructs, infiltrating the hive-mind, and saving Admirals, amongst other things — she’d never been privy to the breathtaking scene until now. 

There, beside the downed Destroyer’s lifeless shell with her enviro-suit’s mask lying in the dirt beside her, Tali couldn’t help but feel a sense of odd hope swelling inside her. A hope that she had not felt in a long time. After hearing the haunting stories of the crushing defeats on Earth and Palaven, and watching as her people died fighting for a chance to reclaim their homeworld, something about their small victory made the future seem that much brighter. And with Shepard here, too… Spirits, did it feel good to hope once more. 

Perhaps it was that confidence, that small sliver of hope, which spurred her heat-of-the-moment decision to embrace the homeworld as uninhibited as possible. It certainly hadn’t been the first time Tali had detached the faceplate of her enviro-suit, but now it didn’t feel so utterly terrifying. Despite the glaring risks of illnesses, allergies, and who knows what else, she couldn’t help but drink in the dusty, acrid tasting air and relish every lungful; nothing had every felt more thrilling than this moment.

But, as exhilarating as the moment was, it still felt incomplete and so terribly unfamiliar. Looking out at Rannoch’s wind-carved cliffs, Tali was left with an sense of quiet melancholy and mourning over everything they had lost. Hundreds upon hundreds of lives here, millions more elsewhere, all for her — and her people — to be able to stand here now and look upon the sprawling desert landscape before them.

She heard the crunch of boots against gravel as Shepard came close, standing beside Tali as she’d always done in all the years they’d known each other. She exhaled slowly and surveyed the horizon with wide eyes. “Isn’t that something.” Shepard breathed.

Tali hummed in agreement. Silence fell over them for a moment as Shepard shot a brief glance over at the fallen Reaper, as if it were the only thing ruining their perfect view, before returning her attention back to Tali. “Everything you hoped for it to be?” Shepard asked quietly.

Was it? Perhaps it wasn’t the paradise her father had promised her, nor did it feel like the grand and triumphant homecoming that the other Admirals had claimed it to be, but it was something. As she admired the way in which the rust-red cliffs reflected Tikkun’s dim light, Tali sighed contently and nodded. This could be something, someday, after the war was over. She looked over at Shepard, who watched her with the barest expression of concern, and reached out for her hand. 

Without hesitation, Shepard took her hand and leaned in to press a soft kiss against her knuckles. Even through the suit’s hardy yet flexible material, the graze of Shepard’s lips against Tali’s skin brought a flush of warmth to her exposed cheeks. “Hey,” she said, giving Tali’s hand a comforting squeeze, “Welcome home.”

Tali swallowed thickly, turning around to fully face Shepard. Seeing her face once again — the familiar scars that marked her jaw, the soft curve of her lips, the way she’d haphazardly pushed her hair back for the sake of convenience — instilled a comforting warmth in Tali’s heart. She glanced out at the horizon once more, giving a disbelieving laugh, and furrowed her brows as she tried to make sense of the words at the tip of her tongue. “I’m… Home.”

She looked into Shepard’s eyes once again, tears beginning to obscure her vision despite the giddy laughter that threatened to spill forth. Now that it was all over, and Shepard was standing by her side again, she couldn’t help but cry — overcome by an onslaught of overwhelming emotion she couldn't quite put a name to. “Keelah, I’m home.”

Shepard frowned and tugged Tali in close, wrapping an arm loosely around Tali’s waist and allowing her to lean against her shoulder. She could feel as Shepard reached up to rub slow circles between her shoulder blades in a comforting gesture, easing the hiccuping sobs into soft sniffling. “I suppose you’ll have to change your name now; Tali’Zorah vas Rannoch."

With a fragile laugh, Tali shook her head. “You know, Shepard,” she whispered, “I think it’ll be ‘vas Normandy’ for a while yet.”

**Author's Note:**

> currently in writer's block hell, trying to write my way out of it with one of my favourite non-canon pairing in Mass Effect :)


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